COMMUNITY WATCH : All Into the Pool

It’s hard not to agree that kids need safe and constructive alternatives to trouble. But for too many children in the Los Angeles area those alternatives are few and far between.

So it surely didn’t help matters recently when the Department of Parks and Recreation began charging admission fees at the 27 swimming pools it operates throughout Los Angeles County. For some communities, the fees--$1 for children and $2 for adults--meant that many economically disadvantaged youngsters might have to spend the long, hot summer outside the pool fence looking in.

However, thanks to the efforts of County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and some generous donations, that grim scenario won’t play out at 13 community pools where the fees were dropped this week.

Burke, after six lifeguards were injured in gang-related violence at the Will Rogers Park pool in Watts, persuaded several corporate officers to help the pools. In a swift and welcome gesture, two corporations--Shell Oil Co. and the Gas Co.--and one anonymous donor stepped forward with a total of nearly $73,000. Also, the corporations are launching a “Save Our Pools” campaign aimed at raising $500,000 from businesses and foundations in order to eliminate fees this year at all county pools.

This is a demonstration of how Los Angeles must work together. Every contribution to the community, through cash or time, can make a big difference because, as the wise saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.